RECIPE: BESSIE'S CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD PUDDING

This recipe was shared with me by my good friend and former producer, Jason Burnett. You may remember him from the Homemade podcast. He interviewed me for one of the episodes. Meet Martie: Homemade Podcast Episode 14: Meet Martie Duncan

Bessie was Jason’s beloved grandmother and this is her recipe, with a few tweaks. It is my favorite bread pudding for the holidays; try it and you’ll serve it every year.

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD PUDDING 

1 large baguette, brioche loaf or other bread like leftover rolls, torn or cut into cubes

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

2/3 cup Craisins or dried cranberries

5 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

scant pinch kosher salt

1 quart heavy cream (or you can use half and half)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh grated is best)

 Slice or tear bread into 1" cubes allow to sit out 2 hours.

Pour Grand Marnier over cranberries and allow to soak for 2 hours. 

Preheat oven to 350˚ F.

Add eggs and sugar to an extra-large bowl; whisk together well. Add vanilla, zest, salt and cream. Add the dried cranberries plus Grand Marnier. Mix well. Add bread. Allow to soak for an hour, pushing it down into the liquid.  

When ready to bake, butter a large heatproof casserole dish. Check the bread by pulling a cube apart to make sure it is soaked through and not dry in the center. Remove the bread from the liquid, one large spoonful at a time and place into the prepared casserole dish. Once you have added all the bread, pour the liquid over it. Push any exposed cranberries into the bread because they will burn.

Put the dish into the preheated 350˚ F oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until it is set and golden brown. How long you bake it will depend on how deep your dish is. You will need less time if it is a shallow dish.

RECIPE: DARK CHERRY CLAFOUTIS (Fluffy french dessert)

Clafoutis (pronounced kla fou TEE) is a rustic dessert, traditionally made with black cherries, eggs, milk, sugar, and flour. Clafoutis is French, but don't be intimidated. It's simple and rustic, but can be very elegant. I've made it for a dinner party and also when camping! The batter puffs up around the fruit and the edges get browned and a little crusty; it's delicious. It rises and puffs up as it bakes; much like a Dutch Baby, if you are familiar with that. The taste is a bit like a custard but it isn't as creamy. Clafoutis, served warm with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of heavy cream is one of my very favorite desserts... and once you taste it, you'll add it into your regular dessert rotation. Serve it in the skillet for an impressive presentation. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can also bake this dessert in a buttered baking dish but youneed to watch it carefully if you do because the timing may be different.

You can also make Clafoutis with different fruit. I like it with pears or apples, too.

DARK CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

6 eggs

6 tablespoons sugar

1 ¼ cup milk

Pinch salt

¾ cups of all-purpose flour

3 cups pitted cherries (don't get the canned cherries in heavy syrup. Use the 24.7 ozbottle of Dark Morello Cherries in light syrup, if you can find them. Drain them well. Or you can use fresh*)

Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a large cast iron skillet or baking dish.

Combine vanilla, eggs, sugar, milk, and salt in a food processor or blender. Blend for a few seconds until combined and then add the flour and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. (if you don't have a blender, you can just whisk until well combined, the sugar is dissolved, and batter is smooth. Whip it really well.)

Pour the batter into the prepared skillet. Cover the top evenly with the well-drained cherries. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Don't be tempted to open the oven during baking or the Clafoutis may fall. Serve warm. Dust the top with powdered sugar or serve with a drizzle of heavy cream.

NOTE: When using fresh fruit, put the butter in the skillet and let it melt. Once it has, add about a pound of  fresh, pitted Bing cherries to the butter and let them cook to soften for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and stir until the juice thickens into a syrup. Pour the batter over the fruit and bake as directed above.

FALL FLAVORS: CARAMEL APPLE MARTINI RECIPE

Everyone loves a caramel apple but they aren't that easy to eat and there's always the risk of expensive dental repairs afterwards. For that reason, I came up with this cocktail a few years ago and it has certainly become a fall favorite. Serve it as a cocktail or as an adults only dessert at the end of the evening.

The perfect fall cocktail: my Caramel Apple Martini.

Put martini glasses into the freezer to chill them. Drizzle caramel sundae syrup into the chilled martini glasses and put them back into the freezer while you mix your drinks. Make a design like a flower, polka dots, a spider web for Halloween parties, etc. Be creative! I wanted mine to look like a caramel apple.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice mix:

2 parts Butterscotch Schnapps

2 parts Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps

1 part vodka-- use plain vodka or adjust the recipe by using vanilla vodka for a sweeter drink or Vox Green Apple vodka for an extra apple kick. I prefer the vanilla vodka but it may be too sweet for some people.

Shake and pour into the chilled and decorated glasses. Yum.  Now go enjoy the weekend. This will certainly make it better.